Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/141

 CAUCASIA CAUCASUS 133 has been found in the upper part of the valley. Capital, Popayan. CAUCASIA. See CAUCASUS. CAUCASIAN BACE. See ETHNOLOGY. CAUCASUS, a general name given to the region and the chain of mountains therein which stretch between the Black and Caspian seas, the mountains forming part of the boundary between Europe and Asia. The region trav- ersed by the range diagonally from N. W. to S. E. forms the Russian lieutenancy of Caucasia. It lies between lat. 38 50' and 46 30' N., and Ion. 37 and 50 30' E. Its longest diameter, N. W. to S. E., is about 800 m. ; area about 170,000 sq. m. ; pop. in 1867, 4,661,824. It is divided into the following governments and districts : Kuban, Stavropol, Terek, Daghestan, Zakatal, Tiflis, Kutais, Sukhum, Tchernomore (Black Sea), Elisabethpol, Baku, and Erivan. The first five, which lie in Europe, are called Ciscaucasia, and embrace, among others, the territories of the Kuban and Nagai Cossacks, the Kabarda, the Tchetchna, and the land of the Lesghians; the last seven lie in Asia, are designated as Transcaucasia, and include Cir- cassia, Abkhasia, Mingrelia, Imerethia, Georgia, Russian Armenia, and Shirvan. An outline of the central part of the country would represent a system of round-topped mountains, exhibit- ing few of those peaks which distinguish the Alpine and other chains, their sides seamed with deep but fertile valleys, descending to the steppes or plains which stretch N. into the main country of the Cossacks, and S. E. toward Persia. The Caucasus range commences in a line of cliffs fronting on the Caspian sea, at the peninsula of Apsheron, whence the main chain stretches in a N. W. direction to the shores of the Black sea, a distance of 700 m., and terminates in the promontory where the sea of Azov unites with the Black sea, near the Russian fortress of Anapa. From the main chain other ranges branch N. and S., giving the hill country a width of from 65 to 150 m. The principal subsidiary chains are on the north. The principal summits are Mount Elbruz or Elburz, on the N. E. confines of Abkhasia, 18,514 ft. high; Kasbek, W. of the road from Mozdok to Tiflis, about 16,500 ft. (like the preceding, first ascended by three young English tourists, Freshfield, Tucker, and Moore, in July, 1868) ; and Syrkhubarsom, be- tween Elbruz and Kasbek, about 15,600 ft. The passage of these mountains is effected through defiles, some of which have a historic celebrity. Such are the Caucasian, now called the Darial pass or pass of Vladikavkas ; the Albanian or Sarmatic pass in Daghestan ; and the Iberian, now called the Sharapan pass, in Imerethia. Only one road is practicable for carriages, that from Mozdok to Tiflis, by the Darial pass and the valley of the Terek. The mountains of the Caucasus are either flat or round-topped. The geological structure of the greater portion is of secondary forma- tion, interspersed with volcanic rocks. The summits and central ridge are granitic; on each side the granite has schistose mountains joining it, and these are succeeded by calcare- ous hills whose bases are covered by sandy downs. The mountains are more abrupt on their north face; southward they descend by a succession of terraces. Snow rests on summits over 11,000 ft. in altitude throughout the year. The glaciers are but of limited extent, and no active volcanoes are known. Earthquakes oc- cur. There are few lakes. Twelve watersheds or channels are counted, six on the N. slope, and six on the S. The principal rivers on the northward are the Kuma and the Terek, flow- ing E. to the Caspian, and the Kuban, W. to the Black sea. On the S. the Kur (the Cyrus of the ancients) flows E., and the Rion (Phasis) W. The country of the Caucasus possesses every variety of climate, from the arid heats of the valley to the cold of perpetual snow. Veg- etation in the habitable districts is luxuriant. Forests of the finest timber clothe the hills al- most to the snow line. Grain will grow at an elevation of 7,000 ft. In the central belt the ordinary species of fruits produce well. Dates, pomegranates, and figs ripen in the valleys. Rice, flax, tobacco, and indigo are sure crops. The culture of sugar cane, silk, and cotton has been introduced into some localities. The tea plant has been recently introduced at Sukhum Kaleh, on the Black sea. Among the produc- tions peculiar to the Caucasus are a species of cochineal insect ; a hard-wood tree called lo- cally utchelia, with wood of a rose color, suit- able for cabinet work ; also the Caucasian goat, celebrated for the value of its hair ; and a wild animal of the feline species, called by the na- tives chaus. The horses of the Caucasus bear a high character for endurance and docility. Wild cattle are found in the forests. Wolves, bears, jackals, lynxes, and the minor fur-bearing animals, are numerous. The wool of the ordi- nary breeds of sheep is long and fine. Almost every species of birds known to the latitude are found here. Few minerals have been dis- covered ; gold appears to be totally wanting ; iron, copper, saltpetre, and lead are found, the last in considerable quantity. The Caucasians proper, including Circassians, Mingrelians, Ab- khasians, Ossetes, Tchetchentzes, Lesghians, Grusians, and many other tribes, of Indo-Eu- ropean race, are generally a bold and resolute people, hunters, robbers, and guerillas from choice, shepherds and agriculturists only from necessity. Although hospitable, they are jeal- ous and revengeful. They live in villages built of stone. Formerly their youth of both sexes were raised for sale in the slave markets of Constantinople; but that traffic has been sup- pressed. Their political organization was for- merly a loose sort of republicanism, under the nominal presidency of a hereditary prince ; but the rule of Russia is now firmly estab- lished over them. Literature they have none. Their religion is an offshoot of Mohammed- anism, corrupted from many sources. An-